


hold this thread

by CapnShellhead



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, MIT Era, Post-Iron Man 3, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 02:09:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14178249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnShellhead/pseuds/CapnShellhead
Summary: Tony was a crafty little thief.





	hold this thread

**Author's Note:**

> Quick little oneshot about Rhodey and Tony. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Rhodey had this ratty old hoodie. 

It had seen better days: the zipper worked every other week, the color was once blue but had faded to a light grey over time. It wasn’t beautiful but it was comfy. It was the most comfortable damn sweater Tony had ever worn. It was too big, just big enough to hold in the warmth when it was freezing outside but somehow light enough when it was just a little chilly and he didn’t want to put on long sleeves. It was soft, softer than any material Tony had ever worn and he’d live in the damn thing if he could. 

He’d found it one day when it was freezing outside, Rhodey went home for break and Tony was at MIT all on his own. He didn’t have hoodies; they would’ve been yet another item in his wardrobe for Howard to bitch about. He had pullovers and sports coats but when he was knee deep in a new invention, Tony just wanted to wear something comfortable. And when he was all alone while the other kids went home for winter break because his father surprised his mother with an impromptu trip to Turks and Caicos, he wanted something comfortable. 

So, when he found this thing on the back of Rhodey’s chair, he slipped it on. 

And wore the damn thing all winter break until Rhodey came back. 

Rhodey had the key in the lock when Tony heard, “Hey, Tones,” and nearly fell off his bed tugging the stolen sweater off and looking for somewhere to hide it. The door opens all the way and Rhodey rolls a suitcase inside, pulling off a beanie to see Tony on his back with a smile much too bright to be normal. But Rhodey lets it slide, going over to his dresser to unpack. He tells Tony all about how his sister met this man she was crazy about, how his mother had asked about Tony quite a few times and there was no way Tony was getting by without coming with Rhodey next year. 

He never finds the sweater Tony hid behind his pillow.

+

Rhodey’s sweater became Tony's sweater over time. 

He hid it well. He’d gotten good at hiding things over the years.

Sure, Tony wanted to believe Rhodey wouldn’t leave or shut him out if he found out Tony had coveted one of this sweaters. He liked to think it was one more quirk Rhodey would just shrug off as a “Tony thing” and move right along but he knew better. Tony didn’t have a great history with getting close to other people. 

When he was 7 and Howard felt he’d gotten too close to Jarvis, he sent Tony away to boarding school. 

When he was 14 and pretty much in love with Tiberius Stone, Tye brought him around his friends and make fun of his “little admirer”. 

When he was 15 and fell head over heels in love with Whitney Frost, her father sent some scary men to have polite little chat with him.

When he was 17, he fell in love with Sunset Bain and she used him to steal intel to start her own company. 

With Rhodey, Tony wanted to believe things would be different. Rhodey was kind but Tony had thought Sunset to be kind. He seemed to like spending time with Tony but so had Tye. Of course, the biggest difference between them and Rhodey was Rhodey didn’t seem to want anything from Tony. He got huffy any time Tony tried to offer him anything more than the last of his fries so, it was hard to believe Rhodey would hurt him the way they had.

Maybe Rhodey wouldn’t hurt Tony or use him, but he’d go away. Everyone went away in the end. Perhaps seeing some scrawny guy stealing his clothes and wearing them when he was lonely or sad was Rhodey’s breaking point so, just to be safe, Tony had a nice little compartment in the bottom of his dresser just for Rhodey’s sweater. 

He was a crafty little thief.

+

One weekend, Rhodey goes home for his sister’s wedding and Tony pulls it out. 

Then there was a knock on the door.

It was Obadiah.

+

Tony told himself he was already a thief and had been for some time, so it wasn’t a big deal that he took the sweater. He bundled it nicely in the bottom of his suitcase and took it with him when he left MIT. He didn’t know if he would ever see Rhodey again and at least he had this to remember him by.

Tony wasn’t stupid; he knew he hadn’t kept the thing just because it was comfortable. 

+

When Tony hears that James Rhodes would be the new liaison between Stark Industries and the Air Force, he was ecstatic. 

He wastes no time pulling Rhodey into a tight hug when they meet up again. He breathes in deep, feeling like he was right back in his dorm room at MIT. 

He’d lost his mother. He’d lost Jarvis. 

But he had Rhodey.

+

After Afghanistan, Tony would wake up in the middle of the night sweating. Didn’t matter if it was cold outside or how low the AC was, he couldn’t lower his body temperature. No matter how lonely or scared he felt, wearing the sweater would only make it worse, so he bundled it into a ball and buried his nose in it. It helped to smell Rhodey’s scent; it reminded him of Rhodey’s arms tight and secure around him when he’d found him in the desert. 

Some nights, that scent was the only thing to remind him that he’d made it out of the cave.

+

After New York, it was a toss up between nightmares of the cave and nightmares of the wormhole.

Some nights, he’d wake up feverish and sweating. Some nights he’d wake up freezing and open his eyes to darkness that set off a panic attack. He had months of sleepless nights but life went on. They’d announced themselves to the world as the Avengers and he was in the public eye more than ever. 

Last night, he had a dream that he never left the wormhole. He woke up in a panic and bundled himself in the sweater around two AM. Around four AM, he finally managed to fall asleep and that was how Rhodey found him that morning. 

Rhodey let himself in. He had a key because of course Tony gave him a key. He made his way through the living room, donuts in hand, calling out as he went. “Tones? Tones! Listen, I know you hate this stuff but if you’re late, Pepper’s gonna come after me and I like my life, man. I like living so, if you could do me a solid, that’d be much appreciated.” He came around the corner and climbed the stairs to the bedroom. 

His footsteps are quiet and he opens the door to see a dark room, the blinds drawn. He can just make out where Tony was curled up on one side of the bed and shivering beneath the covers. Sighing, he asks, “Bad day, JARVIS?” 

“I believe so, Colonel Rhodes,” he answered quietly. Rhodey nods, scanning over Tony’s shivering form and his chest ached. Tony had been having a really rough go of it the past year, hell the past few years. He didn’t tell Rhodey any of it; rather Rhodey had grown crafty and had taken to surprise visits. 

Rhodey toes off his shoes and heads back into the hallway. Pulling out his phone, he starts unbuttoning his dress shirt as he dials Pepper’s number. “Rhodey? Oh, thank god. Is he dressed? He better be dressed and you better not be calling me to tell me he’s taken an impromptu trip somewhere or he’s saving the queen.”

Rhodey winced, shrugging off his shirt as he said, “Listen, Pep, he’s having a bad day.”

“Rhodey, I’m having a bad year,” she began and Rhodey closes his eyes. After the break up, they’d both been moving around each other like ships passing in the night. Pepper still ran the company and Tony did his best to run Tony. It wasn’t easy for Pepper to do this job when she couldn’t count on Dr. Doom not to launch an attack on Hawaii or AIM deciding to blow up a few factories. Pepper was doing her best but sometimes things just happened. 

“No, Pep, I mean, he’s having a bad day,” he says calmly and Pepper quiets. He can hear her heels click and can almost see her sitting down behind her desk, head in hand.

“He’s not coming?” she asks.

“‘Fraid not.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to the board.” She takes a deep breath and then another. “Should I send something? I don’t know what he likes anymore. I… I wanted to send flowers once which was just crazy.”

Rhodey smiles, folding his shirt and holding it in his arm. “Dum-E would have appreciated them.”

“He would have. I miss that little guy,” she says and Rhodey can hear the smile in her voice. “Take care of him, Rhodey.”

“I try,” he says and hangs up. He turns his phone off and moves back into the room, taking off his pants. At some point, it probably should’ve felt weird crawling into bed with another man but after their trip to Tijuana, Rhodey reserved the right to say his friendship with Tony was anything but normal. 

He pulls the covers back and climbs in, moving in close to Tony. His chest meets Tony’s back and Tony stops shivering for a moment. Then he’s startling awake, breathing rapidly. “Tony, hey - hey, Tony, it’s me. It’s Rhodes. It’s okay.” He rubs Tony’s shoulder gently, his voice low. “You’re okay. It’s September 27th. You’re in Malibu. You’re okay. You’re safe. Feel my heartbeat?” Tony nods eagerly and Rhodey’s stomach twists. “Match yours to mine, okay?” Tony tries, taking deep breaths as he slowly calms down. 

Tony sniffs, his face wet and even knowing the circumstances, even knowing the man was light years away, Rhodey wants to find that horned bastard and kill him for bringing more pain into Tony’s life. He waits, rubbing Tony’s shoulder as his breathing evens out. Finally, he pats Rhodey’s hand, his fingers cold, “Thanks, Rhodey.”

Rhodey hums, settling on his side, “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” he says. “I just want to lie here for a while. Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

“Gotcha,” Rhodey replies quietly. Then, “You know, funny story: I used to have this sweater. It was a hand me down from my dad. He outgrew it so my mom gave it me figuring I’d have this big growth spurt and shoot up a few inches that summer. My dad’s 6’1 and his brothers are all around that size. Then, I, you know, didn’t and stayed the same height. But, I took that thing everywhere; most comfortable thing I ever wore. It was the softest thing I’d ever worn and no matter how many times I washed it, it stayed that way. Ratty old thing and I brought it to MIT and then I never saw it again. You gave me sweaters for Christmas every year but none of them even came close to that old thing. I was sad when I lost it, Tones. But you know what? Today, I think I found it.”

Tony rolls his eyes, his voice gruff, “You could have just said ‘hey asshole, give me my sweater back’.” Rhodey laughs, squeezing Tony’s shoulder and feeling him relax. His arm drops down to Tony’s chest, holding him close. 

“I could have but I wanted you to know how much I loved this thing.” He tugs at the sleeve, noting a few burns in the cuff. It had seen better days but clearly Tony didn’t mind it. For a billionaire, he was an odd duck. Rhodey knew he could’ve bought thousands of sweaters but here he was bundled in a sweater Rhodey’s mom had probably bought at a JC Penny decades ago. “And I’m sensing you’re feeling a little raw today so…”

Tony shifts, peeking at Rhodey over his shoulder. “You can have it back if you want,” he says in a small voice. The hesitance Rhodey sees there gives him pause. 

“It’s fine,” Rhodey began but Tony starts to unzip it. “Tones-”

“I’m not an idiot. I know why I kept it. It’s just… well, I thought if you found out I took it and I kept wearing it, you’d leave.” Rhodey blinks at him, brow furrowing in confusion. “Bad things happen when I get too close to people. My dad sent me away when I got too close to Jarvis. I called him ‘Dad’ once by accident and my father sent me to boarding school to toughen me up. Fell pretty hard for my best friend at boarding school. I even wrote him some god awful poetry and he gathered all his friends around and made me read it in front of them. Then, my first girlfriend’s father sent a few men to rough me up and tell me to stay away from her. Then, Obie so… I thought if you knew how I felt about you, you’d make fun of me or you’d leave so…” he trails off quietly, eyes soft. 

Rhodey stares at him for a moment and Tony hurries to add, “But you can have it back. It doesn’t smell like you anymore, anyway.” Shaking his head, Rhodey bit his lip, gesturing to the sweater.

“Give it to me.” 

Even pained, Tony pulls it off and hands it over. Rhodey takes it and Tony turns back over, much colder than before, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. At least he was done waiting; done worrying about the day he got too greedy with Rhodey’s time and attention and the man finally came to his senses and left. At least he’d be able to get it over with. If today was the day, well it had been a long time coming and that meant one less person to be upset with Tony when whatever new terror came into his life. 

He hears fabric rustling and the sound of a zipper and then the bed shifts. Tony clenches his eyes shut and then he feels an arm settle over his as thin fingers twine through his own. Rhodey’s chest presses against his back, his breathing soft against Tony’s neck. Tony gasps, squeezing back when Rhodey’s fingers tighten around his own. “Is this okay?” he asks and Tony nods eagerly. So eagerly that Rhodey gets a mouthful of hair and he laughs softly. “You sure?”

“S’perfect,” Tony says, feeling calm settle over him for the first time in a long time. He closes his eyes, letting Rhodey’s scent envelope him. Rhodey holds him tight, nosing into Tony’s neck and breathing him in. 

They’re asleep in minutes.

+

After the Mandarin, the sweater is lost forever.

Tony’s pulling the covers back in his bed at the mansion when he realizes it. He crawls in, laughing when Rhodey yanks him closer, dropping a hand to the top of his head and pulling him down. Rhodey kisses him softly, smiling against Tony’s lips when he deepens it. He pulls back, grinning down at Rhodey as he whispers, “Hi”.

“Hi,” Rhodey replies, pulling his shirt above his head. Some days, Tony still felt self-conscious about the surgical scars on his chest but tonight, he’s content to let Rhodey strip him and run a hand over his chest. Rhodey had a habit of doing that, like he was reassuring himself that Tony was here. 

Rhodey tosses the shirt aside and Tony lowers himself down, stealing another kiss before he drops his ear to Rhodey’s chest. Rhodey strokes his back, his voice rumbling through his chest as he asks, “What’s up? You had a weird look on your face.”

“I lost your sweater,” he murmurs and Rhodey hums.

“After so many years without it, I kind of figured it wasn’t mine anymore.” He continues stroking Tony’s back and Tony has to fight to keep his eyes open. “What happened to it?”

“It’s in the ocean with my house,” he says tiredly and Rhodey sighs in sympathy.

“I’m sorry. I know you loved that thing.”

And he had. It’d gotten him through some of the worst periods of his life. It had comforted him when he lost his mother. It calmed him when he lost Jarvis. It had made him feel safe after Afghanistan. It kept him warm after New York. 

But he didn’t need it anymore. 

“S’ok,” he murmurs and closes his eyes, listening to the steady heartbeat beneath his ear. “I’ll make do.”


End file.
